Staples isn't the only one - age discrimination lives!

See yourself or your managers in any of the language here? http://www.hrmorning.com/age-bias-cost-staples-how-much/ I am confident that Staples is not the only organization where this kind of thing occurs. $26M is a huge award to one person - think about what it will cost your company?

Performance Appraisals - Yeah or Nay?

From Holly Jones at the Legal Review: Skepticism about appraisals is not unusual. A Google search on performance appraisals will return numerous articles calling for the death of the performance review, a defunct management ritual that is merely a sign of stale leadership and a lack of innovation in HR practices. Various surveys report that 98 percent of employees dread them, 14 percent of employers don’t even have them (and even among those employers that do, 12 percent of employees still don’t receive feedback), and more than half of employees who do receive evaluations believe that the results are not fair or accurate. Yahoo's use of ranking, the so-called "Rank and Yank" is an even less accurate performance system for most companies. Especially in Silicon Valley, the manager has the answer at the start - somebody has to be on the bottom, and each manager is using (for the most part) his/her individual standards for performance. My take is that most organizations do a miserable job of performance appraisals. They often miss the key component of success : The CONVERSATION between employee and manager! That's what the system hinges on - the accuracy and openness of the conversation. That's my 2 cents. Send me a comment if you like.

What kind of HR Department are you?

Tip o' the hat to Tim Sackett for a great article: http://fistfuloftalent.com/2013/09/hr-5c-5s.html What kind of landscape do you play in, and how good are you at providing value that improves your organization?

Best blog by an attorney

Great points here in Diana Maier's latest blog: http://dianamaierlaw.com/lost-art-of-praise-workplace/ It's so easy to forget the basics of human interaction - and it's so necessary that we not do that, especially in the workplace. The best performance management systems provide ongoing feedback, rather than being a once a year event. Getting managers to provide ongoing, crisp, clear feedback on performance is the BEST way to avoid performance problems. And it's also the best way to avoid having to use an employment attorney.

Fire over the phone?

In one sense, firing someone over the phone is a great way to set up a lawsuit . https://www.openforum.com/articles/firing-an-employee-over-the-phone/?extlink=of-syndication-sb-p But in other ways, if done privately and professionally, it can work. And it can be more personal than doing it on email. Terminations are never easy, but if you need help with them, email me at info@broadbandhr.com for a professional point of view on rightful terminations.

Hired a Psychopath lately?

It's very difficult in the HR world today to walk the fine line between employment discrimination of a candidate truly protected by a psychiatric disability, and making a healthy selection decision for your organization. Tip o' the hat to Kazim Ladimeji for this data-filled article: http://www.recruiter.com/i/how-to-avoid-hiring-a-psychopath/ If you suspect you may be close to hiring a psychopath, consider: How closely does his/her background actually match the requirements? Does the role require managing others? Does the role require some behavior that could be considered outside of the norm? Does your organization have the resources to manage this individual? I am sure that there are many other factors to consider in your circumstances, but do give thought to some of the basics. If I can help you with particulars pre- or post-employment, send me an email at info@broadbandhr.com

Intern vs. Apprentice - a good argument for today

A Tip o' the fedora to Suzanne Lucas for this interesting article: http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/forget-the-interns-hire-an-apprentice.html I agree that none of us ever learned our profession in 3 months of an internship - what we learned in that time was basically if we liked the nature of the work, and not necessarily how to perform any of the work itself. Many of us did "apprentice" with someone more senior to learn a craft. Even when there is more science than art to a profession, much of the professional skill is acquired by doing the work under the direction of a senior and highly skilled worker. This is as true in software development as it is in product management or human resources or recruiting.